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Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, a blog hosted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), is a unique resource for journalists, policymakers, scholars, activists and others interested in understanding Venezuelan politics and human rights.

The contributors call it as they see it, providing insights on Venezuela’s politics that go beyond the polarized pro-Chavismo/anti-Chavismo debate. The views expressed in the posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect WOLA’s institutional positions.

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David Smilde, curator of the blog, is a WOLA Senior Fellow and the Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University. He has lived in or worked on Venezuela since 1992. He is co-editor of Venezuela's Bolivarian Democracy: Participation, Politics and Culture under Chávez (Duke 2011).

Geoff Ramsey is WOLA’s Associate for Venezuela. He is an avid observer of the situation in Venezuela—having helped coordinate WOLA’s response to and coverage of the December 2015 legislative elections from Caracas—as well as a regular contributor to WOLA’s Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights blog.

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US Sanctions on Venezuela: More Sparks on the Way

March 16, 2015

David Smilde

As is well known by now, President Obama’s executive order declaring Venezuela a threat to US national security has caused an uproar in Venezuela and the region. There is little chance it will die down this week. On Tuesday the Senate Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee will have a hearing on Venezuela that will surely provoke the Maduro government to respond.

Sub-committee Chairman Marco Rubio has stated that the goal of this meeting is “to continue pressuring the Obama Administration to do more to help Venezuelans and defend our values and interests.” Rubio said that the sanctions implemented so far “have revealed the disaster that Nicolas Maduro and his regime have inflicted on Venezuelans.” However, he suggests, “it is necessary to give more and more attention to this humanitarian crisis which threatens regional security.”

It is important to remember that all but two of the members of this sub-committee voted for Venezuelan sanctions and they are going to defend and justify that vote. Furthermore, witnesses that support this position have been carefully chosen. We can expect salacious language and efforts to explain just how Venezuela is a “national security threat,” most likely by drawing links with Iran.

The hearing will, of course, receive ample and instant coverage in the Venezuelan media.